


Caged

by AgentStannerShipper



Series: Fictober 2019 [22]
Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: F/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-09
Updated: 2019-11-09
Packaged: 2021-01-25 22:53:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21363979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgentStannerShipper/pseuds/AgentStannerShipper
Summary: Data and Tasha get kidnapped on a mission.
Relationships: Data/Tasha Yar
Series: Fictober 2019 [22]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1540126
Comments: 2
Kudos: 24





	Caged

**Author's Note:**

> For fictober day twenty-two: “We could have a chance.”

Tasha slumped against the cell wall, sliding to the ground with a huff. She rested her elbows on her knees, watching as Data continued his examination of the bars. “You’re not going to find anything.”

He spared her a glance, then returned to tugging at the metal. “It is possible I will be able to locate a weak spot. If one of these bars were to give way-“

“We’d still be stuck in a cage.” Tasha let her head fall back against the rock with a groan. “Face it. We’re trapped.”

The mission was supposed to be simple. A diplomatic function, all small talk and fake smiles and sampling the local delicacies. Tasha hated diplomatic missions. They complicated security matters. Besides, she’d been kidnapped on one too many.

At least this time they’d taken Data with her. Their captors, a rebellious faction – because it was always a rebellious faction – had made no secret their fascination with the android. Data had born their poking and prodding with the same repose she’d always seen him exhibit. And when he’d been thrown in with her, the door slammed shut behind them both, Tasha had heard the jeering taunts. They’d made her want to spit in each and every one of their faces, but all she’d done was clench her fist. Data hadn’t even reacted.

“How do you do it?” she asked.

Data paused in his ministration, turning fully to look at her. The expression on his face could almost have been mistaken for concern. “It is very simple. By applying pressure-“

“Not that,” Tasha interrupted. People interrupted Data a lot, she’d noticed, but he bore that too without complaint. “Nothing seems to faze you. People are always grabbing you, or talking about you like you aren’t there, or…I don’t know, _saying stuff_. But you never seem to let it bother you.”

Data abandoned the bars, coming instead to sit beside her. His posture was stiff, but Tasha had known him long enough to know that that was caused by his programming, as opposed to any personal tension. He did not look at her, his gaze remaining fixed on the far wall as he contemplated. Eventually, he said, “I was not designed with the capacity to…be bothered.”

“You’ve stuck up for yourself before. I’ve heard it.”

“Sometimes,” Data allowed. “But my artificial nature makes me something of a curiosity to many people. If I attempted to combat all of them…” He trailed off, and then, with the air of correcting himself, finished, “I believe the expression is, ‘choose your battles.’”

Tasha snorted, and Data looked at her. “Have I said something amusing?”

She shook her head, still grinning. “Just…thinking about myself. How I used to be, before Starfleet.” Data didn’t verbally prompt her, but he did cock his head, so she continued, “If someone had told me, back then, to choose my battles, I would have picked all of them.” She closed her eyes. It had been a long time since she’d thought about Ishara, but her sister’s voice came back to her now. She could almost picture her disapproving frown.

“If you were so inclined to fight, why did you leave Turkana Four?”

Tasha winced. Ishara’s scowl deepened, and she banished the thought from her mind. She opened her eyes, looked at Data, and shrugged. “Growing up, if you didn’t fight every battle, people ended up thinking you were weak. They thought they could walk all over you. So I fought. And I won. But, I don’t know. Leaving sounded a whole lot better than spending the rest of my life fighting.”

“Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that statement could be considered…ironic.”

Tasha toyed with the hem of her uniform, the gold on black that designated her head of security. “Yeah. I guess so. Maybe I’m not as over fighting as I thought I was.”

“In that case…” Data stood, then offered out his hand. She took it and allowed him to lift her from the floor, onto her feet. He raised his eyebrows. “I believe I have located a weak spot in the bars. If I attempted to break through, we would most likely attract the attention of the guards. And if they were to get close enough…”

“We could grab the keys and get out of here,” Tasha finished. Her smile widened. “You think it’ll work?”

Data studied her for a moment, and Tasha wondered if he was calculating the precise odds in his head. He didn’t give them, instead saying simply, “We could have a chance.”

“Good enough for me. Let’s do it.” Tasha gestured towards the bars, and Data obliged, seizing a portion of one in his fist and ripping it free with a terrific crashing sound. In response, footsteps echoed down the corridor, heading in their direction. Tasha grinned and braced herself for a fight.


End file.
